


A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Wizard Masters

by Severus_Gruber



Category: A Nightmare on Elm Street (Movies 1984-1994), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Dark Crack, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-06 22:35:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12827565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severus_Gruber/pseuds/Severus_Gruber
Summary: After the events of A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, the Springwood Slasher finds it in his best interests to move on from terrorizing the children of Elm Street. Instead he decides to hop across the pond and find easier prey within the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...or so he thought. With Freddy watching their every move and the supply of dreamless sleep quickly diminishing our protagonists are forced to forgive each other and get over their pasts in order to ensure that they will have futures. That is, if they're to survive at all.





	1. Calling Old Friends

**Author's Note:**

> It should go without saying but I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or A Nightmare On Elm Street. I just think both are neat. Consider this a little love letter to each.

The red door of the house creaked mournfully on it's hinges. Lily Evans stood in front of it, down the lane, emerald eyes fixed on the thick black bars encasing the windows which would have otherwise looked lovely.  _ The house itself would be lovely if it wasn't falling apart, _ she thought to herself. Thunder cracked overhead and it began to pour rain, soaking her hair and nightgown to the quick, making the fabric stick to her pale and freckled body. She swallowed hard and continued down the path to the opened door, only a bit desperate to get out of the cold rain. 

 

As soon as she crossed the threshold the door slammed shut behind her and a sickening, masculine cackle broke the silence of her dream. A shiver ran down her back and she couldn't tell whether it was from the cold or fear. The inside of the house was in a state of disrepair; Cobwebs strung themselves across the chandelier in the entrance hall and the bannister leading up the stairs was splintered and cracked, age having taken its toll. The carpets were caked in dust and her bare feet were already soiled by the layer of grime on the hardwood beneath them. There was no light in the house, save for the glow of the moon streaming through the windows. Against her better judgement, she walked further into the house, examining the family photos which had fallen off center with age. The dining room was in squalor as well, the table having been broken in half down the center; It looked as if it had been broken by a body slam. A curio cabinet by the arched windows had been overturned, spilling its dishes out over the floor which she didn't realize until it was too late. Upon stepping on them the soles of her feet blossomed in pain that was much too real and she stepped back, desperately wiping them at the carpet in order to clear them of glass. Bright red trails of blood formed where she'd wiped her feet as another voice, younger and feminine wafted through the still air. 

 

“ _ Help me!”  _ it called in anguish. It repeated over and over again, the disembodied little girl’s voice punctuated by sobs. The red head couldn't help but notice that the voice sounded eerily similar to her sister's, but how long had it been since she'd dreamt of Petunia? Curious, she followed the voice to the base of the stairs where it echoed and reverberated back to her, even more troubled than before. 

 

Lily took the stairs two at a time, desperate to find the little girl who'd called out to her, nervous that this dream would end in her seeing her beloved but estranged sister in some state of harm, bloodied and bruised or, potentially, dead. She'd had enough dreams involving death recently, she need not see a family member splayed out grotesquely as she'd recently dreamt James as being. 

 

The hallway at the top of the stairs was just as decrepit. The wallpaper was tearing at its seams, the carpet here now stained with her blood as well. Every step made her feet feel as though they were on fire, the tiny pricks of glass burying themselves deeper with her every tread. She found her voice, calling out to the little girl who hadn’t stopped yelling. 

 

“Tuney, is that you?”

 

“ _ Lily!! _ ” she heard, desperate and stifled as if a hand had been clamped over the little girl’s mouth. She hastened her steps, traipsing down the seemingly endless hallway faster now. She came to a bend in it and turned, the voice only growing louder. 

 

“I'm coming, Tuney!” she called into the darkness. As she passed a doorway leading to a bedroom a pale hand shot out, grabbing her by the forearm. It pulled her into the bedroom roughly and she screamed, terrified that  _ she  _ may die in this dream. 

 

“Lily what are you doing here?” the voice of Severus Snape said quietly next to her ear. She attempted to wrench her arm out of his grip, away from him as she remained disgusted by his actions the previous year but she couldn't break the contact. She felt his fingernails biting into the fragile flesh of her arm, his skin cold against hers as it always had been. 

 

“I'm going to help Petunia,” she said defiantly. He grasped his wand tight in his free hand, casting  _ lumos _ to add a bit of light to the otherwise pitch black bedroom. She could make out his face now, inches from hers and more haggard than ever, the purple bags under his eyes more defined than she'd ever noticed before. 

 

“Don't go. He's trying to bait you.”

 

“What the  _ bloody hell _ are you talking about? Who's trying to bait me?” 

 

The screeching sound of metal meeting metal tore through the atmosphere, making the pair cringe in harmony. He locked eyes with her, nothing but dread alive in his eyes.

 

“ _ He  _ is,” the boy said flatly. He pocketed his wand quickly as the noise deepened, the scathing scratches becoming more high pitched as they approached. He slammed the bedroom door and grabbed hold of her other wrist with the same unbreakable grip he'd had on her arm. He began an attempt to drag her towards the bed against the far end of the wall across the room but she dug her injured feet into the floor, making herself an immovable statue against him. He shook her wrists in his hands violently, obviously becoming frustrated.

 

“Lily, you need to get the hell out of here! Let me help you!”

 

“You're not going to get me in bed again you creep! Not even in a blasted dream!” He sighed gruffly and let loose of one of her wrists in order to scoop her up in a fireman’s carry, holding her close against himself as she kicked and hollered for him to drop her. The shriek of steel still rolled on, now outside the door. A thud hit the outside of it and Severus looked back in terror as she went still, listening for whatever was on the other side. The cackle from earlier sounded off again and the boy turned to look at Lily, cradled in his arms.

 

“You need to  _ wake up, Lily,”  _ he shouted as he tossed her onto the bed. The world seemed to shatter around her as her head made contact with the pillow and she woke in her own four-poster in the girl’s Gryffindor dormitory, soaked in sweat and shivering as a result of it. She breathed deeply, her lungs shuddering with every exhale. 

 

Just then she felt a sharp pain in her foot. She nervously pulled the covers away from herself only to find her tiny feet dripping blood, pieces of china embedded in them. She caught sight of her arms then, too. In the moonlight the faint bruises made by long, slender fingers coiled around her wrists were unmistakable, already blooming under her skin. 

 

She could have sworn she smelled Severus’ scent on her nightgown. And so she screamed, loud enough to wake her room mates, loud enough to cause Mcgonagall to come to her aide, loud enough for Poppy to feed her a calming draught which made her sleep well into the next school day. 

 

Later that afternoon, Severus Snape would take his place in potions class, small slashes riddling his arms underneath his school shirt and he would stare emptily across the room at Lily Evans’ empty seat, desperately hoping that she hadn't fallen asleep again only to face that menace alone. 


	2. An Attempt at Reason

“Do you think you were sleepwalking?” The squat Gryffindor asked with confusion in his voice. He reached across the table, retrieving a few more slices of toast before beginning to butter them. “My mum says sometimes when I was a little one she'd find me still half-asleep, bolt upright in bed eating. Maybe something like that happened to you.”

 

“But don't you think I would have woken up if I hurt myself doing something in my sleep?” 

 

“Maybe, maybe not. I've whacked my hands on the headboard while asleep a few times and I didn't know about it until I woke up and my hands were bruised.”

 

“But there was no glass in our dorm,” Lily sighed. “Mary and Marlene said they looked everywhere and there was just...nothing I could have hurt myself on.” 

 

“I'll admit that's...odd. But perhaps you managed to get down to the common room while you were sleepwalking. Maybe you stepped on something there.”

 

“And managed to get back into bed before waking up?” Peter shrugged and dropped his toast on his plate, wiping the errant butter off his hand with a napkin before simply deciding to lick it off his fingers. 

 

“Listen Lily, I don't know what to tell you. I don't think you're crazy but at the same time...I can't see you grabbing your own wrists so hard they bruised or getting your feet all cut up in your sleep. None of it adds up. But the way I see it, if it doesn't keep happening then you shouldn't worry about it. You never had dreams like this before did you?” 

 

“I've had nightmares but never something this realistic.” She ran her hands through her hair, certain that she'd matted it by doing so. Not that she presently cared about her appearance; Between the bags under her eyes and the listlessness she felt after being dosed with dreamless sleep she hardly cared about much besides the state of her mental health after the events of the night before. 

 

“Just do your best not to get worked up over it then. Ask Pomfrey for another potion so you can at least sleep soundly tonight. It looks like whatever she gave you the first time didn't help you so much.” She scowled at him, angered by his candor, but he simply stuck his tongue out at her playfully in response. Overhead the bell tolled signaling their first period and she stood alongside her friend, gathering the few books she'd taken out of her bag. A quick glance across the hall brought her eyes to rest on the likes of her old friend Severus Snape. Still tall, still gangly, but now sporting a fresh-looking cut across his left cheek. She rolled her eyes at this, making a mental note to bring it up to James when she saw him in Charms. 

 

On their way out of the great hall, she bid Peter a half-hearted but fond farewell. At the time, she wasn't aware that that farewell would be one of their last.

\------------------------------------

“Have you four been messing with Snape again?” She slammed her bag down on her table, causing both Sirius and James to turn their attentions towards her. 

“No, not recently,” James said incredulously. He looked to Sirius who pursed his lips and shook his head as well. 

“Don't lie to me,” she warned.

“We’re telling you the truth! I haven't touched him in weeks and Pads has been up my arse for just about as long asking for help with his school work so I'm almost  _ positive  _ he is too. And you know Lupin and Peter just act as though he doesn't exist.”

“Why do you ask?” Sirius chimed in. 

“I just saw him at breakfast and he had a huge slash across his face.” She mimed the path of it along her own cheek, her eyes still locked on the boys. 

“Rest assured that wasn't us. He was probably just practising that cutting hex he made and used on Sirius last year. Remember that? Pomfrey couldn't stop the bleeding for  _ hours.  _ Maybe the git had a misfire and got a taste of his own medicine.” Sirius laughed and stuck his hand out for a high five and James slapped it with vigor before Lily’s voice drained all enjoyment from the conversation. 

“Just remember what I told you, James. You said you'd stop it with him and I know for a fact you  _ haven't.  _ If I find out that you're lying to me  _ again _ -”

James sighed dramatically and turned to Sirius to continue the conversation they'd been having before Lily arrived. Frustrated, she pulled her chair out and sat at the table alongside the two, specifically positioned away from them as they chattered on and on about the coming quidditch match. A few seats down, Remus Lupin smiled at her from his own place while Flitwick clambered onto his stack of books in the middle of the classroom. The day’s lessons began accordingly, casting all thoughts of her exiled friend from her mind. 


	3. Breakthrough

Lily Evans would sleep on that night, a double dosage of dreamless sleep coursing through her veins and her mind clear of danger. Peter Pettigrew would not find himself nearly as lucky.

 

The dream had begun normally, he always dreamed of Hogwarts.  The plump boy meandered the darkened halls of the school, seemingly searching for his friends. He opened every door he found that wasn't locked. Most seemed to only be empty classrooms, but one piqued his interest after he'd wrenched it open. In the middle of the otherwise empty room stood a large and elegant mirror, framed in gold with script running across the top, words too far away and blurry for him to make out. 

 

He made to enter the room when a cold hand coiled itself around his wrist, tightening on it to the point of pain. The Gryffindor spun around only to come face to face with Severus Snape, pale and vaguely creepy even in the dreamscape. “Don't,” the dark wizard said in a hushed tone. 

 

Peter withdrew his arm from Severus and wiped it on his nightshirt as if he'd just touched something mysteriously wet and said “Bugger off, Snape,” before spitting at his feet. The Slytherin boy’s eyes widened knowingly, stepping away in what seemed to be mock worry.  

 

“Fine,” he retorted. “I tried.” With that Severus left him, his quiet footsteps fading in the distance away from the doorway. Peter looked back in and entered, the door slamming itself shut behind him. He looked back, nerves overtaking him as the solitude of this corridor overcame him. Against his better judgement the boy approached the mirror, encapsulated by the ethereal glow the moonlight streaming on it created. As he stepped towards the glass, a menacing cackle broke over the room, echoing off the high ceiling. 

 

“S-snape?” he called. There was no answer. Common sense would have told him the voice had been too deep, too aged to be his nemesis’ but the boy was already well beyond that frame of mind. Fear clouded his mind, ensnaring it in a web of futility. Nonetheless his feet carried him further until he was standing directly in front of the looking glass. 

 

As he gazed into it he could make out a distinct image, one that showed him with his three best friends in the world. However, something was different. The other three young men gazed at this mirror image of himself with a sort of wondrous glimmer in their eyes. The look they gave him was one of respect, one of admiration. He understood that in this parallel he had won the thing most important to him, the mutual approval of those most important to him. Suddenly, the cackle came again, louder this time as even the non-existent boys in the mirror looked up to find the source of it. 

 

“Snape I told you to  _ bugger off _ !” The laugh ended abruptly and he sighed in relief. But when he looked to the glass again, a menacing figure had taken the place of the Marauders. A tall man, dressed in a ragged red and green striped jumper and a dirty brown fedora stood before him. His face was destroyed, scarred and pockmarked in a way that was otherworldly. The man's right hand was encased in a glove with a set of razor sharp knives attached to the knuckles to simulate claws. The man smirked at Peter and he found himself paralyzed, terror at the man's appearance freezing him in place. 

 

“You want your friends to have a break though?” he said in a rolling American accent. Peter didn't respond, his tongue seemed to have dried out and gained ten pounds in his mouth. Suddenly the man in the mirror was lunging at him and picking his husky body up by the shoulders, dangling him at almost eye-level. In that moment the man was big like a god, like a towering effigy of all that was wrong in the world. “You're the only one breaking through tonight!” 

 

And with those words the rag tag killer had pulled him into the mirror, shattering it with an ear-piercing sound. Peter felt as though his body had been turned inside out and blood coursed down his arms and face as he stared at himself in the remains of the mirror in the Gryffindor bathroom. With one final, choking breath he would fall to the floor and perish. 

 

It would look like a suicide, perfect slashes trailing the arteries in both his wrists. But Severus Snape would know the truth. Alongside the blood and cuts on on Pettigrew’s arm bright bruises in the shape of slender fingers would bloom as he lay awake with a fellow student’s blood on his careless hands. 


	4. Reconnecting

McGonagall draped her own robe over the boy as he was carried out of Gryffindor tower, a look of absolute horror plastered over her face. In spite of the best efforts of both their head of house and headmaster, the rest of the children had managed to slip their way into the edges of the common room to witness the event. Lily had made her way from the opposite side of the room to stand next to her friends who were equally as struck as their matriarch. Upon sensing her nearness, James reached down and clasped her hand, their fingers entwining as Lily caught a glimpse of Peter's limp hand hanging off the stretcher, it's wrist looking just the same as her now healing one. Even from a distance she could make out four perfect, dark fingerprints. A fear turned her stomach and she knew that she would have to find a way to talk to Severus, if only to figure out how he had marked a dead man. 

\-----

“While it's...certainly been some time since a tragedy such as this fell on our student body it isn't unheard of. However it's very strange to me that a boy such as Peter would choose to end his life. Did he say anything to the four of you before this happened?” Mcgonagall sat behind her desk in her office, head hung dejectedly in her hand while her four students sat, still clothed in their sleepwear, across from her. Lupin was looking in the distance, his gaze situated outside of the window on the sunrise just breaking over the horizon. His scarred face gave him an air of maturity that expression presently betrayed, the features of both a young man and an old man battling for dominance. James and Sirius had also taken to staring, albeit slack jawed at the floor, leaving Lily the only one in any state to answer. 

 

“He didn't say anything to me, Professor.” She cleared her throat, turning the boys’ collective attention to the deputy headmistress. 

 

“No, ma’am,” came an almost silent chorus of their voices. 

 

“Nothing? Nothing even mildly concerning? He wasn't taking any unnecessary risks? Saying goodbyes?” 

 

“I think he expected to be here today.” James sniffed, wiping his eyes across the sleeve of his night shirt. “I think if he was  _ really  _ planning to snuff it he would have told us, at least said something about not feeling well. He knew that he could trust us. Please don't be insulted, Professor, but are you  _ absolutely sure  _ that he committed suicide?”

 

“The spells we cast around the washroom came back conclusive that there had been no one besides Peter there for hours. At least, nobody with a magical signature had been there. And given that Hogwarts is extremely well guarded against Muggles and intruders of all kinds, yes, Mr. Potter, I do believe that this was a suicide.” Sirius exhaled forcefully, producing what must have been the most exasperated sigh any of them had ever heard. 

 

“But why would he just up and fucking  _ do it _ ,” he said. “It makes no  _ sense.” _ Mcgonagall stared at him as if waiting for him to continue a sentence that hadn't just ended. “Please excuse my profanity, Professor. I'm not really in the best mood right now given that one of my best mates just offed himself with  _ no warning _ ,” he bit. 

 

“You're excused. And speaking of such, the four of you are allowed to stay in the tower instead of going to classes today. As always, Madam Pomfrey and myself are here to assist you if you need anything at all. The four of you are dismissed.” They rose silently and retreated from the office, not speaking to each other besides to agree that they wouldn't be taking any classes in the morning. However as they split up and Lily climbed the stairs to her dorm, she knew that she would have to go to classes. How else would she find a way to speak to Snape unbothered?

\-----

Foregoing sleep, she decided to simply pack her school bag for the next day, her copies of the books she needed nestled close to a folded garment she only wished to finally purge herself of.

\-----

She felt a piece of parchment being nudged under her elbow as Slughorn drawled on in front of the class, his eyes fixed on the tables closer to the front of the room. Any other day she would have loathed the teacher's decision to partner her with her former friend but today she was thankful for it. She retrieved the scrap of paper without looking at it, much accustomed to the practice of note passing from her days spent in Muggle schooling. She unfolded it under the desk and cast her eyes low enough to read the spiky, feminine scrawl that simply read  _ I'm sorry to hear about Pettigrew. _

 

She thought for a moment to just nod at the boy but, needing answers, decided to write back, quickly dipping her quill into her ink bottle before laying the parchment on the desk in order to write back.  _ Thank you.  _

 

She re-folded the note, holding it towards him at waist level. His eyes still fixed ahead, he took it from her and read it from his lap as she had just done. In a moment the note was being held between them again which started a short exchange on the sheet, their handwriting getting smaller and smaller as they ran out of room to write.

 

_ Do you need anything?  _

 

_ Yes, actually, if you have some time to talk today? _

 

_ I do at the end of the day. Where? _

 

_ The old spot? _

 

_ Sure.  _ He went to pass the note back before retracting it and adding  _ Thank you for talking to me.  _ The bell rang just as she was reading the note. Her old friend had stood, beginning to pack his bag. As he did so she reached into her own bag, retrieving the garment she'd stuck there before holding it out to Severus. He immediately recognized it and refused. 

 

“No, I gave it to you.”

 

“I don't want it. You need it more anyway.” Reluctantly he took the jacket from her and put it in his own bag before turning away from her and walking out. 

  
For the life of her she couldn't understand why her heart had begun racing. 


	5. Insinuation

“Listen, I don't want to stick around here with you longer than I've got to but I need answers.” She pulled the sleeve of her blouse up, exposing her pale and bruised limb to Severus. The dark patches of blood had faded to yellow spots, still purple in places but much less distinguishable. “Do you know anything about this?” 

 

He eyed her hand and then his eyes dropped, his greasy black hair framing his face and hiding his expression from her. He backed up a step, leaning against the railing of the bridge behind him while pulling the light jacket she'd just given him back that day closer to his body in an effort to trap heat. The wind blew around the two of them gently, enough to toss hair but not nearly powerful enough to cause a true chill. Not yet at least. 

 

“How did that happen?” His voice was solemn, foreboding. It gave Lily the creeps but then, so did a lot of things Severus had said or done over the years. 

 

“I had a nightmare the evening before last.” The sleeve of her blouse came down again, hiding her skin and the injury. “You were there. We were in a weird, dilapidated house. It had a red front door and these bars across the windows. I went inside of it because I heard a little girl calling for help and you stopped me from going after her. You grabbed me round the wrist and shoved me onto a bed and it...forced me to wake up somehow. And in the dream I stepped on some broken plates and they cut my feet up. When I woke up my feet were still bleeding, Pomfrey said there was still glass in them, and I had these bruises, like you had grabbed me in real life.” Her monologue over she took a moment to glance at her friend. He stared back at her with worry alive in his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. “And this morning when they were carrying Peter out I saw his hand and he had bruises on his wrist, too. Just like mine.” At this, the boy recoiled, his eyebrow raising while his mouth dropped open a bit in disbelief. Suddenly it seemed as though he was mentally scrambling, nervous and angry with himself all at once. 

 

“Lily, you can't go to sleep tonight.” He bounced on his feet a bit, restless in his motions. 

 

“What? Why not?” 

 

“Just...I know it's  _ impossible  _ for you to do so but you  _ need  _ to trust me, Lily. If you go to sleep you're going to get hurt. If you give me a day, just until tomorrow, I'll make you a stronger dreamless sleep draught than Pomfrey can make. But I  _ need  _ you to stay awake.” 

 

Lily crossed her own arms, more out of defense than anything. 

 

“Yeah, like I'd drink anything you gave me. You'd probably poison it.” 

 

“Why on  _ Earth  _ would I do that to you, Lily? I'm trying to  _ keep you  _ from dying.” 

 

“By not letting me sleep? And I suppose that whatever you want to make for me would put me into a  _ pretty deep _ sleep, right? I guess it's just a coincidence that in a deep sleep like that I wouldn't be able to wake up easily.”

 

“What are you trying to imply?” he asked, anger making him grit his teeth as the words left his mouth.

 

“I think you know,” she spat back.

 

He stared at her, confused, until the pieces fell into place in his mind. “I'm trying to help you, Lily! I don't want anything to do with you sexually I just want to keep you safe.”

 

“Oh, you don't? What about what happened a few summers ago? You wanted it  _ then.” _

 

_ “That was a mutual agreement, you're just as guilty as me,”  _ the dark man bit out between his teeth. “That's fine, though. If you aren't going to let me try to help the least you can do is listen to me. In your dreams you've got powers you could only hope for in real life, even  _ with  _ magic. Don't forget that.” He turned away from her and began to walk back towards the school, his gait awkward due to a limp she hadn’t noticed before. As she took off in the opposite direction she cursed herself for losing her cool and not asking about his own injuries, the fresh scab and the apparently now hurt leg. 

  
Nevertheless, in due time she would have answers. 


	6. Reconciliation

She'd fallen asleep. She must have, only a dream could explain the miserable landscape she found herself in. It appeared to be a boiler room with scaffolding stretching higher and higher above her into the ceiling, much too high for her to see the end of it. What frightened her the most, however, was the fire. 

 

It had sprung up abruptly from in front of her feet, singeing the tips of her hair and her toes, shooting blind heat through her skin with every footfall on the corrugated metal beneath them. A seemingly endless ladder in front of her stretched towards what she assumed was the next landing in this dreamscape and she made the decision to climb it. Rung by rung she made her way up, industrial sounds of booming and screeching equipment beating off her eardrums the entire way. As she reached the last rung, her hand closed on the rail and she felt a white hot burn spread across the flesh of her palm. Shocked and in pain, she withdrew it hastily. A hand that wasn't hers appeared in her line of sight and, without thinking, she grabbed it, allowing it to hoist her past the entrance to the landing. 

 

In the fervent glow of the flames surrounding them, Severus Snape looked almost handsome. 

 

“Sev? Why are you here again?” 

 

“I knew you'd fall asleep.” He took a few steps away from her, his boots falling heavy on the steel grating. She felt a pang of envy, wondering what all of those new age books would say about a dream that doesn't allow the dreamer to have shoes. 

 

“Is this you or dream you?” she asked shakily. He shrugged. 

 

“Maybe that's something you'll have to find out for yourself,” he said coldly. “Since you're so  _ very _ stubborn.” 

 

She sighed, almost jogging to keep up with him as he made his way quickly through the maze of catwalks, dodging fire as it shot out at him from both sides. “Why are you here?” 

 

He shrugged again, removing his wand from his back pocket. She patted the pocket of her own pajama pants, worried at the realization that she was unarmed. “Protection. And to prove a point.” He turned to face her, his arms crossed over his black t shirt as he calmly asked “What do you fear the most?”

 

“Ending up alone, I guess.” He smirked and clenched his wand in his hand. 

 

“Very well.” And with those two words he was gone, the figment of her imagination disappeared as quickly as he'd come. She looked around for a moment, frantic.  _ Protection? Protection from what?  _

 

The same sickening cackle she'd heard in her first nightmare came from behind her on the catwalk, menacing and grim. Making a rash decision, she sprinted down the rest of the endless catwalk, searching for any possible exit. However the warm steel just seemed to stretch on forever in front of her. 

 

The cackle was coming closer. As she finally reached a turning point in the corridor, she began to speed down it only to be stopped by the fiend who now stood in front of her, brandishing a glove full of knives in her face, his lips spread in a faint smile, flashing his rotten teeth to her. She took a step back from him only to have him close the gap with another step forwards. 

 

“It's been awhile since I've had a girl,” he growled, the sounds caught deep in his throat and his eyes narrowed to gleaming slits in his burned face. Suddenly the demon seemed to cringe in pain a bit as a flash of red light sprung from behind him. As the man turned around, Lily could see her dark friend standing a bit more down the corridor, his wand brandished as if to strike. She felt a swell of thankfulness rise in her as her friend struck the demon again, this time garnering his full attention. 

 

“If you jump you'll wake up!” he called as the monster advanced on him, dragging his metal hand along the guardrail, creating a piercing noise that almost drowned out the boy’s voice. 

 

“Jump where?!”

 

“Off the side of the scaffolding!” The dream once again feeling a bit too real, she shot him an angry glance. “Oh come on, Lily! You trusted me when we were nine, why can't you do it now!? I was never out to hurt you! Just jump for Christ’s sake!” 

 

Sensing the urgency in his voice, she decided to abide by her old friend’s wishes. She clambered over the guardrail and stood on it for a second before pushing herself off, not quite knowing what to expect. Just as she was about to hit the flames beneath her she awoke in her bed, jolting upright and once again bathed in sweat. Her skin of her hand pulsed and it felt hot and heavy and, upon examining it, she found it to be burned. A black, oily residue hung on the edges of the burns, her skin peeling in spots. 

 

Terror rising within her, she quickly threw on a school robe and tore through the portrait of the Fat Lady, desperate to reach Severus to make certain that he'd won the duel he'd gotten himself into. 

\-----

“I didn't know that you had Head Girl duties tonight, I thought this was your off day.” Slughorn looked worse for wear in his old nightcap and shirt, his voice weak from no doubt another bender. Lily shook her head, nervous to ask him what she actually needed. 

 

“The Head Boy and I switched shifts,” she managed to peep out. “And I think I saw Severus in the halls after curfew. May I speak with him please?” Slughorn smiled and nodded, poising himself to exit the room. 

“Of course, dear. And this is good news, if that is all you need I may retire sooner rather than later. I'll fetch him but please remember to lock my office door when you finish.” Slughorn did as he said he would, exiting the room and leaving her to wait alone in his dark office. She waited for what seemed like an eternity but was more or less only a handful of minuets. The entire time she expected Slughorn to return, pale faced and more nervous than usual in order to declare that there had been an accident. When the door finally opened she was relieved that only Severus had come, looking just as she assumed she must have directly after she'd woken up. Wide eyed and pale, he pursed his lips upon seeing her and shut and locked the door behind him. 

 

Without much thought she closed the distance between them and hugged the boy, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. “Thank Merlin you're all right,” she said quietly. She pulled away from him and ran her hands through her hair, attempting to pin it away from her face. “What  _ was  _ that?” she asked. 

 

“It's a...very long story,” he responded. “From what I can piece together, he's a kind of creature that only exists in dreams. But they aren't really  _ dreams,  _ they're  _ real.  _ I think he can actually kill you in your sleep.”

 

“Do you think that happened to Peter?” 

 

“I heard him laughing, yeah.”

 

“Did you see Peter in your dreams the other night when he died?” Swallowing hard, he decided to answer Lily truthfully, lest he lose this newly regained trust. 

 

“Yes. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen to me.”  _ There. Only a half lie.  _

 

“Oh God…so he's after you then?” 

 

“And you, as far as I can tell. I'm sorry for essentially leading him right to you but I  _ needed _ you to believe me. Do you understand how dangerous this is? He could kill either or both of us and everyone will think we killed ourselves or just got hurt. And what happens if he does get rid of the two of us? He already got Peter, who's to say Potter or Lupin or even Black won't be the next ones? Who's to say any of us are safe from this creep?” 

 

“So how do we get him to go away?” Snape shrugged, sighing as he rubbed the sleep out of the corners of his eyes.  

 

“I don't know.” He threw his hands up, pocketing them as the motion finished. “I've noticed that religious things seem to ward him off but only if they touch him, so they're practically useless. Other than that I've found a few escape routes from the dreams but I can only stay awake for so many days at a time. The potion helps but it isn't a permanent solution.” 

 

“Can you hurt him?” 

 

“Magic seems to a bit, yeah, but he seems...almost indestructible for the most part. It's rather disheartening.” 

 

“Do you think we should tell a teacher?” 

 

“So they can just think of us as the next set of Trelawney's? No, we aren't going down that road. There are a lot of unbelievable things in the Wizarding World, Lily, but even  _ this  _ is a bit much.” He rubbed his hands up and down his arms, obviously trying to conceal just how frightened he was. 

 

“Then I'll help you. If we both fall asleep then we can both try to fight him. Maybe our odds will be better that way.”

 

“I'm not going to let you do that, Lily.”

 

“And why not? I'm almost as good at magic as you are besides all of that dark arts rubbish. Come on, I can  _ help you.”  _

 

_ “ _ If you got hurt I don't think I'd be able to live with myself.”

 

“Well if I get hurt or killed while trying to stop him from hurting or killing anyone else then I think it's a worthy sacrifice.” Severus rolled his eyes, exhausted with her already.

 

“Bloody Gryffindor…”

 

“That's right! And I'm proud of it.”

 

“To hell with it. That's fine. Help if you feel as though you've got to but if it comes down to it I'll be shoving you on your arse right out of there.” She thrust her hand out to him and he shook it lightly before removing his hand from hers. 

 

“I'll hold you to that,” she told him. 

 

“If we're going to try to do this we're going to have to start talking again. Is that alright with you?”

 

“I'm talking to you right now.” she said incredulously. He laughed shortly. 

 

“Potter and the rest of them won't be angry with you?” 

 

“The last time I checked they don't own me. I'll talk to whomever I please.”

 

He twisted his hands within each other, bending his fingers this way and that, debating on a line of action. _Is now the right time to attempt this?_

“I _am_  very sorry for what I said to you before we stopped talking, Lily.” He did his best to allow his voice to sound as truly regretful as he felt. “It was wrong of me to say something like that about you or anyone. It was just a really bad moment for me, I got overwhelmed and it just came out. I'm sorry.” She crossed her arms and sighed. 

 

“For the time being, given the situation, I'm going to temporarily forgive you. But that doesn't make what you said or did all right.” 

 

“That's fair and I understand that. I can't just...put the words back in my mouth. But I  _ would  _ like to be your friend again if you'd have me.”

 

“I've told you before, I don't want to be friends with anyone as involved with the dark arts as you.”

 

“I haven't been involved in them in a few months.” 

 

“Why not?”

 

“Too busy trying to stay alive.” He looked away from her mournfully, sorry to have brought the conversation full circle. 

 

“It's been that bad?” 

 

“I get a full night’s sleep once, twice a week if I'm  _ very  _ lucky. I've been falling behind with school, I haven't talked to anyone in just as long, Slytherin or not. It's just too much. I just wish I had the energy to study as much as I used to.” 

 

“Well...hopefully it won't be that way for much longer.”

 

“Yeah. Hopefully not.”

 

“Then you can go back to your dark arts again.” He shook his head, clearing his throat as he began to speak. 

 

“No,” he said. “If it's still a choice between that or you I'll choose you this time.”

 

“I'm not going to break it off with James, Severus. Even if you stop messing around with all those future Death Eaters.” 

 

“I never said  _ I wanted you too. _ I never even said I wanted to be with you, Lily! I don't care who you date, just as long as you're safe and happy and they aren't trying to fucking  _ kill me _ for I  _ existing.” _

 

“Whatever. Just  _ prove  _ to me that you won't go back on your word again.”

 

“Very well. Do you want the dreamless sleep tomorrow? Or do you want to spend the night up?” 

 

“The potion please.” 

 

“Alright. I'll bring it to class later today. Until then, I've got some classwork to catch up with. I'll talk to you later.”

 

“Do you need any help with it?” 

 

“Unless you want to write this paper on Muggle involvement in WW2 for me than no.”

 

“I'll do it. My uncle was a veteran, remember?”

 

“My father's brother was as well but you know how I try to drown out whatever Tobias says. Most times it's as if he hasn't said anything at all I've gotten so used to ignoring him.” Lily smiled at the familiarity of their words and he returned it, still shy about it but feeling much more confident with her promise of friendship if he could only manage to not cause any more rifts between the two of them.


End file.
